In defense of “God of Earth and Outer Space”

Published on Monday, 18 February 2013 03:00

13 Comments

by Jonathan Pritchett

God of earth and outer space, God of love and God of grace, Bless the astronauts who fly. As they soar beyond the sky. God who flung the stars in space, God who set the sun ablaze, Fling the spacecraft thro the air, Let man know your presence there.

God of atmosphere and air, God of life and planets bare, Use man’s courage and his skill As he seeks your holy will. God of depth and God of height, God of darkness, God of light, As man walks in outer space, Teach him how to walk in grace.

God of man’s exploring mind, God of wisdom, God of time, Launch us from complacency To a world in need of thee. God of power, God of might, God of rockets firing bright. Hearts ignite and thrust within, Love for Christ to share with men.

God of earth and outer space, God who guides the human race, Guide the lives of seeking youth In their search for heavnly truth. God who reigns below, above, God of universal love, Love that gave Nativity, Love that gave us Calvary.

It is very popular for people to bag on this wonderful gem of a song from the older Baptist hymnals. It has been labeled the “worst hymn ever”, “stupidest hymn ever”, etc. Actually, it is nothing of the sort…

Not by a long shot.

I am hereby setting out to defend “God of Earth and Outer Space” as a fantastic piece of Biblical, “practical”, “relevant”, and “modern” theology. So, I will examine it in hopes to silence the “haters”, and demonstrate once and for all why it not only should still be in the hymnal even though it isn’t anymore, it should still be sung with some sort or regularity over and against some of the more inane praise choruses of recent years.

God of earth and outer space,

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

John 1:3 “All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.”

Colossians 1:16 “…because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.”

Hebrews 11:3 “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.”

God of love and God of grace,

Zephaniah 3:17 “The LORD your God is among you a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will bring you quietness with His love. He will delight in you with shouts of joy.”

John 3:16 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—”

Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God has appeared, with salvation for all people,”

Bless the astronauts who fly. As they soar beyond the sky.

When I think of astronauts, I think of science. 90% of all Scientists in the National Academy are atheists. This is odd. Without God’s infinite, eternal mind ontologically grounding reason, logic, and mathematics, (things that science presupposes) science would be impossible. Scientists that are atheists must presuppose theism in order to do their job because God makes the universe rational and able to be comprehended. This totally smacks the so-called post-Enlightenment, modernist view right in the face and focuses the “astronaut” (read scientist) back to reality. This is the Sovereign Creator God’s universe.

God who flung the stars in space, God who set the sun ablaze, Fling the spacecraft thro the air,

Genesis 1:16 “God made the two great lights—the greater light to have dominion over the day and the lesser light to have dominion over the night—as well as the stars.”

Psalm 33:6 “The heavens were made by the word of the LORD, and all the stars, by the breath of His mouth.”

Isaiah 40:26 “Look up and see: who created these? He brings out the starry host by number; He calls all of them by name. Because of His great power and strength, not one of them is missing.”

Let man know your presence there.

Psalm 139:7?Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?

Jeremiah 23:24 “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.”

God of atmosphere and air, God of life and planets bare,

Genesis 1:6-8 “Then God said, ‘Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.’ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse ‘sky.’ Evening came, and then morning: the second day.”

Genesis 1:11 “Then God said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it, according to their kinds.‘ And it was so.”

Genesis 1:20 “Then God said, ‘Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky’”

Genesis 1:24 “Then God said, ‘Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.’ And it was so.”

Genesis 1:2 “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.’”

Acts 17:24-25 “The God who made the world and everything in it —He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things”

Use man’s courage and his skill

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Psalm 27:1 “The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom should I be afraid?”

Romans 8:15 “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”

Nahum 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger but great in power; the LORD will never leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.”

God of rockets firing bright.

1 Chronicles 29:11?Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to You. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.”

Deuteronomy 10:14 “The heavens, indeed the highest heavens, belong to the LORD your God, as does the earth and everything in it.” (including rockets!)

Hearts ignite and thrust within, Love for Christ to share with men.

Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.“

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

God of earth and outer space, God who guides the human race,

See above…

Acts 17: 26 “From one man He has made every nation of men to live all over the earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live”

Guide the lives of seeking youth In their search for heavenly truth.

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.”

John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth.”

God who reigns below, above, God of universal love,

Jeremiah 10:12 “He made the earth by His power, established the world by His wisdom, and spread out the heavens by His understanding.”

1 John 4:8 “The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Love that gave Nativity, Love that gave us Calvary.

1 John 4:9 “God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.”

Romans 5:8 “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!”

Ahem…far from being the “worst” or “stupidest” hymn ever, it seems that it is chock full of sound Biblical theology and doctrine. Thad Roberts Jr. has written a powerful hymn here filled with content that calls for deep reflection.

Not only should this song be sang more often, but we need more songs that combine themes of faith and science, creation, the sovereignty of God and His love revealed in Jesus Christ. After all, God created this universe. We need science to return to its origins as a Christian discipline. We have the only solid foundation for it. Furthermore, the theme of “outer space” reminds us that the Sovereign God of creation is God of the entire universe…and that we mere humans are NOT at the center of it. We are but specks of dust, totally dependent on God for our hearts to even beat and our lungs to gather air.

Consider the following verses:

Psalm 8:3-4 “When I observe Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You set in place,what is man that You remember him, the son of man that You look after him?”

Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.”

Isaiah 40:17 “All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are considered by Him
as nothingness and emptiness.”

Songs like “God of Earth and Outer Space” serve as wonderful reminders that God is so infinite and majestic, and we are but nothing before Him. He created an enormous universe that declares His glory to remind us of who and how puny we are, and who and how great, gigantic, powerful, and sovereign He is. God is God over all.

God Bless,

Johnathan Pritchett

This entry was posted on Monday, February 18th, 2013 at 3:00 am and is filed under Guest Author.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.